Chapter 31 #3
“Suppose his pathogen kills off a lot more than four thousand five hundred people. Think what that would do to their workforce. It would hit supply chains. Disrupt Chinese mining. Jack up the price of cobalt. And seriously hurt the Chinese government. In one fell swoop the balance of power shifts. And think about it. He’d only be replicating what nature has done for millions of years, except he’d be giving it a helping hand. ”
It took Dan a second or two to catch up.
“You think he’s making bioweapons for some other country or foreign power so they can gain the upper hand in the DRC? To kill the Chinese stranglehold on the production of cobalt?”
“Yup. Why else would he be interested? He has nothing to gain from wiping out thousands of people, so it stands to reason he’s working for someone else.”
“I still say—”
Nathan cut Sam off. “You still think he couldn’t do this? After seeing all the information he’s collected on the DRC? And EV-D68? How many more notebooks do you need to wade through, sis, until you accept what’s right in front of you?”
“Who’s making all this noise?” Mike hollered from upstairs. “There’d better be coffee.” His feet thudded on the wooden treads.
Dan had heard enough. His head had been spinning since he left the apartment—any more twists and turns and it’d come right off.
He stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go wake Gary up. We go home tomorrow, and I need to plan what we’re doing today.”
More importantly, he had to get out of there.
“You’ll be back in Boston tomorrow?” Nathan asked.
“Yes. Do you have an update for us?”
Now would be a good time, Nathan.
“Not yet.”
I wish I was near enough to look you in the eye and touch you. Because then I’d know for certain what you just said was a lie.
“Okay. Well, call us when you have something.”
“Did you both get your shots?”
“Yes.”
“So did I,” Sam piped up.
Dan couldn’t stick around a second longer. “Sam? Thanks for the coffee. Nathan, we’ll be waiting for that call. Mike? Keep her safe.” And with that, he left the house.
He headed back to Commercial Street and walked briskly in the direction of the apartment, his stomach in full churn mode.
I feel sicker than I did when I woke up.
The situation had gotten worse. He was no closer to knowing when Nathan would call, and Sam had provided him with yet more reasons to fear what was coming.
Why would Robert Martin feel so angry?
What would sadden him enough to push him to do this?
Is he being manipulated by some power that wants to use his expertise for their own financial gain?
The questions just kept coming.
Dan passed the pier, and a cold wind whipped around him. He hurried on, aiming for shelter from its icy fingers.
Then those same fingers wrapped around his heart, and Dan knew, knew with absolute certainty, that he was being watched.
He scanned his surroundings, looking for the source of that knowledge, but no one stood out.
There were no sinister figures standing in the shadows, their eyes glinting as they watched his every step.
All he got were smiles from happy tourists.
Gay couples ignored him, lost in each other.
And the longer he searched for evidence he was being observed, the more it eluded him, until he began to doubt his own senses.
Except he knew he hadn’t imagined it. He could still feel their eyes boring into him.
But where the fuck are they? And why are they watching me?
By the time he reached the store that sat beneath the apartment where they were staying, his fear was thick in his throat, threatening to choke him. Gary’s car was parked in the gravel-covered alley next to the steps, a fine layer of sand coating it, deposited there by the wind. Except…
He approached the vehicle, his heart hammering. On the driver’s door was a handprint, its outline plain as day.
Dan acted without thinking. He placed his hand on top of the print, and pulled it away a heartbeat later, as though it had burned him.
Oh fuck.
He jerked his head up to their door, the blood pounding in his ears.
Gary.
Dan bounded up the stairs, his fingers all thumbs as he tried to remember the four-digit code to unlock the door. On the third try, it opened, and Gary stood there.
“Hey. How was the walk? You could have—”
Dan dashed inside and closed the door. “Has anyone been here?”
Gary frowned. “You mean visitors? No, no one. But then again, no one knows we’re here.” His face paled. “Dan. What’s wrong?” He gripped Dan’s shoulders. “Christ, you’re trembling. What is it?”
“Someone touched your car.”
Gary’s frown deepened. “What do you—” His eyes widened. “What did you feel?”
“Something—or someone—I’ve felt before.”
“When?”
“When I held Leo’s phone. You know, the one he never used.
I told you back then I didn’t like how it made me feel.
” He struggled to hold on to what little lucidity he had left.
“Call Mike. He gave you his number before we left, didn’t he?
In case we needed to get in touch with Sam?
” Gary nodded. “Okay, then call him. Tell him to keep an eye out, and make sure Sam stays indoors.”
He sat on the bed, his breathing ragged.
Gary peered through the brown blinds. “Who do you think is out there?”
Dan had been asking himself the same question.
“At a guess? One of the professor’s ex-CIA buddies.”
“But why would they be following you?”
Dan said nothing but simply stared at him, willing him to work it out. He saw the instant Gary’s mind reached the same conclusion.
Gary gave a slow nod. “Because we’ve spoken with Robert Martin.”
Dan nodded too. “Looks as if the professor isn’t taking any chances.”
Someone somewhere had just painted a target on their backs.